“Shared Value”

2021 ◽  
pp. 174-209
Author(s):  
Melissa Aronczyk ◽  
Maria I. Espinoza
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Digital Evidence ◽  
Shared Value ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Social Good ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Technical Character

Chapter 7, “Shared Value”: Promoting Climate Change for Data Worlds, begins with a provocation. In the growing movement to deploy big data for big solutions to mitigate global warming, are the data serving the climate cause? Or is the climate a convenient form of promotional capital for the benefit of big data adherents? This chapter reviews the shape of the Data for Climate Action (D4CA) campaign, showing how the campaign’s greatest impact is in the realm of publicity. Under the banner of shared value and social good, business, NGO and political leaders promote data solutions to climate problems, privileging technical and private sector expertise and digital “evidence” of global climate transformations. Despite its datafied package, the chapter reveals the continuity of mechanisms of public relations to generate facts that further reinforce the informational and technical character of environmentalism.

scholarly journals Big data for climate action or climate action for big data?

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172098203
Author(s):  
Maria I Espinoza ◽  
Melissa Aronczyk
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
Address Climate Change ◽  
Data Practices ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
User Data ◽  
Climate Crisis ◽  
Depth Interviews

Under the banner of “data for good,” companies in the technology, finance, and retail sectors supply their proprietary datasets to development agencies, NGOs, and intergovernmental organizations to help solve an array of social problems. We focus on the activities and implications of the Data for Climate Action campaign, a set of public–private collaborations that wield user data to design innovative responses to the global climate crisis. Drawing on in-depth interviews, first-hand observations at “data for good” events, intergovernmental and international organizational reports, and media publicity, we evaluate the logic driving Data for Climate Action initiatives, examining the implications of applying commercial datasets and expertise to environmental problems. Despite the increasing adoption of Data for Climate Action paradigms in government and public sector efforts to address climate change, we argue Data for Climate Action is better seen as a strategy to legitimate extractive, profit-oriented data practices by companies than a means to achieve global goals for environmental sustainability.

scholarly journals The risk of carbon leakage in global climate agreements

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Nielsen ◽  
Nicolai Baumert ◽  
Astrid Kander ◽  
Magnus Jiborn ◽  
Viktoras Kulionis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Carbon Leakage ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Climate Agreements ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Nationally Determined Contributions

Abstract Although climate change and international trade are interdependent, policy-makers often address the two topics separately. This may inhibit progress at the intersection of climate change and trade and could present a serious constraint for global climate action. One key risk is carbon leakage through emission outsourcing, i.e. reductions in emissions in countries with rigorous climate policies being offset by increased emissions in countries with less stringent policies. We first analyze the Paris Agreement’s nationally determined contributions (NDC) and investigate how carbon leakage is addressed. We find that the risk of carbon leakage is insufficiently accounted for in these documents. Then, we apply a novel quantitative approach (Jiborn et al., 2018; Baumert et al., 2019) to analyze trends in carbon outsourcing related to a previous international climate regime—the Kyoto Protocol—in order to assess whether reported emission reductions were offset by carbon outsourcing in the past. Our results for 2000–2014 show a more nuanced picture of carbon leakage during the Kyoto Protocol than previous studies have reported. Carbon outsourcing from developed to developing countries was dominated by the USA outsourcing to China, while the evidence for other developed countries was mixed. Against conventional wisdom, we find that, in general, countries that stayed committed to their Kyoto Protocol emission targets were either only minor carbon outsourcers or actually even insourcers—although the trend was slightly negative—indicating that binding emissions targets do not necessarily lead to carbon outsourcing. We argue that multiple carbon monitoring approaches are needed to reduce the risk of carbon leakage.

Filling in for Governments? The Role of the Private Actors in the International Climate Regime

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28
Author(s):  
Charlotte Streck
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
State Actor ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Private Actors

The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change abandons the Kyoto Protocol’s paradigm of binding emissions targets and relies instead on countries’ voluntary contributions. However, the Paris Agreement encourages not only governments but also sub-national governments, corporations and civil society to contribute to reaching ambitious climate goals. In a transition from the regulated architecture of the Kyoto Protocol to the open system of the Paris Agreement, the Agreement seeks to integrate non-state actors into the treaty-based climate regime. In 2014 the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Peru and France created the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (and launched the Global Climate Action portal). In December 2019, this portal recorded more than twenty thousand climate-commitments of private and public non-state entities, making the non-state venues of international climate meetings decisively more exciting than the formal negotiation space. This level engagement and governments’ response to it raises a flurry of questions in relation to the evolving nature of the climate regime and climate change governance, including the role of private actors as standard setters and the lack of accountability mechanisms for non-state actions. This paper takes these developments as occasion to discuss the changing role of private actors in the climate regime.

US backsliding will drag on global climate progress

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Federal Support ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Climate Action

Subject The Paris Agreement and US withdrawal. Significance President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change on June 1, prompting criticism from around the world. While current pledges are unlikely to change and the agreement will not see flight or withdrawal by other countries, US withdrawal imperils the ability of the agreement’s structure to accelerate climate action to a scale necessary to meet its objective of limiting global warming to below 2 degrees centigrade by 2100. Impacts The US private sector and sub-national polities will increase their climate action, though the loss of federal support will still be felt. A future US administration could re-enter the agreement, but substantial momentum will be lost diplomatically in the intervening years. Calls for greater adaptation -- rather than mitigation -- funds from climate-vulnerable states will grow more strident.

scholarly journals The Evolution of the UNFCCC

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Kuyper ◽  
Heike Schroeder ◽  
Björn-Ola Linnér
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Industrial Country ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Voluntary Contributions ◽  
Top Down ◽  
United Nations Framework Convention ◽  
Climate Action

This article takes stock of the evolution of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) through the prism of three recent shifts: the move away from targeting industrial country emissions in a legally binding manner under the Kyoto Protocol to mandating voluntary contributions from all countries under the Paris Agreement; the shift from the top-down Kyoto architecture to the hybrid Paris outcome; and the broadening out from a mitigation focus under Kyoto to a triple goal comprising mitigation, adaptation, and finance under Paris. This review discusses the implications of these processes for the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of the UNFCCC's institutional and operational settings for meeting the convention's objectives. It ends by sketching three potential scenarios facing the UNFCCC as it seeks to coordinate the Paris Agreement and its relationship to the wider landscape of global climate action.

From apathy through anxiety to action: emotions as motivators for youth climate strike leaders

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Maria L. Bright ◽  
Chris Eames
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
Educational Framework ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Suitable Climate ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Pedagogy Of Discomfort ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract The climate strikes of 2019 motivated millions worldwide onto the street and provided a platform for youth voices that demanded global climate action. This article explores the experiences of climate strike leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand questioning the motivational factors behind the youth action. In-depth interviews with 15 climate strike leaders identified emotions that influenced engagement and could motivate action. Climate strike leaders reported experiencing a series of turbulent emotional stages from apathy to action. Their experiences suggest that anxiety and anger are important stages in the emotional journey towards action. Using Boler’s Pedagogy of Discomfort, this paper examines these emotional stages that can disable or enable action. Considering youth perspectives increases our understanding of a suitable climate change educational framework that potentially supports both educators and students on this challenging journey.

Translating the global climate change challenge into action as reflected in Uganda’s media

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goretti Nassanga
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
National Level ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Global Risk ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
The North ◽  
Climate Action

Climate change is a global risk that has affected all countries, which requires both global and national action. From the domain of scientists, who initially dominated climate debates, climate change has now become a public issue, with politicians increasingly influencing decisions on climate action, thus climate change becoming a highly politicized media topic. Given that media focus on key issues in society, this article examines the positioning of climate change in Uganda’s media as a means of gauging the level of political commitment to translate this global challenge into climate action. Premised within the issue-attention conceptual framework and based on the findings from the analysis of print media coverage in Uganda of the COP21 global summit, the article shows that climate change is not just a local national issue but is inexplicably linked to global frameworks, where voices and actors from the North not only dominate the global climate discourse but also transcend to the national level as reflected in the coverage, with most of the climate news being from foreign sources and foreign political leaders. Journalists are urged to pre-empt the local politicians to be active participants, not passive listeners in the global climate debates, such that climate issues become high on Uganda’s political communication agenda.

scholarly journals From Local Concerns to Global Challenges: Continuity and Change in Sub-state “Green Nationalism”

2022 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark F. Hau
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
State Level ◽  
Progressive Politics ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
The Right

Issues related to anthropogenic climate change such as global warming, fossil fuel emissions, and renewable energy have emerged as some of the most important and pertinent political questions today. While the role of the state in the Anthropocene has been explored in academia, there is a severe dearth of research on the relationship between climate change and nationalism, especially at the sub-state level. This paper builds on the concept of “green nationalism” among sub-state nationalist parties in European minority nations. Using a multimodal analysis of selected European Free Alliance (EFA) campaign posters from the past 30 years, the article explores an extensive “frame bridging” where minority nationalist political actors actively seek to link environmental issues to autonomy. Although there is an apparent continuity in minority nationalist support for green policies, earlier initiatives focused on preservation of local territory while EFA parties today frame climate change as a global challenge that requires local solutions, which only they can provide. The frame bridging between territorial belonging and progressive politics has lead to the emergence of an environmentally focused, minority nationalist agenda that advocates for autonomy in order to enact more ambitious green policies, or “green nationalism”. This shows that nationalism in the right ideological environment can be a foundation for climate action, as minority nationalist actors base their environmentally focused agenda to address the global climate crisis precisely on their nationalist ideology.

scholarly journals Climate change, marginalised communities and considered debate within Scotland’s climate emergency

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Climate Change & Marginalised Communities Workshop Contributors
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Short Communication ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Sharp Focus ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Scottish Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Open Issues

The announcement by the Scottish Government of a global ‘climate emergency’ in May 2019, and the selection of Glasgow as the host city for the main COP26 talks to be held in late 2021 has helped focus attention to the impact of climate change in Scotland. The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought into sharp focus the disproportionate effect that shocks and stresses have on already vulnerable people and places. This short communication aims to contribute to these debates by clarifying existing strengths and open issues for an evidence-driven response to climate change in Scotland’s marginalised communities. Growing support for rapid and radical climate action, both in Scotland and overseas, brings into question the role of learned societies and reasoned debate within a climate emergency. To this end, we synthesise recent Scotland-based research into issues relating to climate justice and, drawing on the outcomes of a workshop held in summer 2019, identify aspects where good progress has been made and areas where further work is required for an evidence-driven and just response to climate change in Scotland and beyond.

The climate change problem: is an LNG sectoral agreement part of the solution?

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
David Hodgkinson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Political Ambition ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Change Problem

Recent reports and papers reveal the scope of the global climate change problem. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics (2012) concludes the sum total of existing policies, in place or pledged, will very likely lead to warming in excess of 2°C. Additionally, a report from Vieweg et al (2012) concludes limiting global warming to below 2°C remains feasible if there is sufficient political ambition and action to introduce the required measures and policy changes now. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol have failed to address this climate change problem; other ways to address the problem should be considered. One alternative way forward would be to break the climate change problem into different pieces, to contemplate a more decentralised arrangement in which particular issues are discussed and negotiated—a regime complex, for example. Indeed, the UNFCCC regime may actually constrain agreement on addressing the climate change problem, and a shift away from a top-down, Kyoto-style architecture for international climate action—to a more bottom-up approach, with smaller agreements between particular groups of states and sectors—could result. An international LNG sectoral agreement could form part of such an approach, or as a stand-alone agreement, because natural gas offers the most immediate method of transitioning to a lower-emissions global economy. After examining the UNFCC/Kyoto regime and other approaches to, and frameworks for, addressing the climate change problem, this peer-reviewed paper outlines the nature of sectoral agreements and their advantages, together with the rationale for, and benefits of, a sectoral agreement for the LNG industry.

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